Attorney says Berkeley dean
committed sexual assault

Los Angeles Times

An attorney for a woman whose claims of sexual harassment led to the resignation of the law school dean at the University of California-Berkeley said Sunday that the dean ``grossly mischaracterized'' the incident as consensual and the university has mishandled the woman's complaint.

Reached in Amsterdam where she was spending the holidays, the Berkeley attorney, Laura Stevens, said the dean sexually assaulted her client two years ago after a night of drinking with a group of students at the university's prestigious Boalt Hall law school.

The lawyer e-mailed the allegations over the weekend to several media outlets in the United States.

The dean, John P. Dwyer, announced Wednesday in a letter to the faculty, staff and students that he would resign effective Jan. 1 because of the sexual harassment allegation.

In the letter, which was publicly released by UC-Berkeley, Dwyer said that he ``had a single encounter two years ago that was consensual, but there is no allegation that any form of sexual intercourse occurred.'' He went on to say that it ``reflected a serious error in judgment on my part and was inappropriate.''

Stevens said in the interview Sunday that Dwyer came to her client's apartment after a night of drinking with her client, then a second-year Boalt student. Stevens said the alleged assault took place after her client passed out, apparently from her evening of drinking.

Dwyer did not return calls for comment Sunday or late last week.

Stevens also offered an explanation about why her client didn't file the complaint until Oct. 11, about two years after the alleged assault took place. The student, now 27 and working as a public interest lawyer, graduated in May.

The student sought help from several quarters, Stevens said: the university's student health center, where she participated in group and individual therapy; from law school faculty members; and from the university's Title IX officer, whose position is intended to ensure campus compliance with federal laws prohibiting harassment.

Stevens said the officer, however, did not know which procedures applied in connection with a complaint against a dean, and she could not assure the student that her identity would remain confidential or that she would be protected from retaliation if she lodged a formal complaint.

The student also reported the incident to three female law school faculty members, but they expressed doubt about their responsibilities and concern about possible retaliation if they became involved, the attorney said.

Because of fears of retaliation, the student then chose to keep silent until she graduated and took the bar exam, the statement said.

UC Berkeley spokeswoman Janet Gilmore said she could not discuss what specific allegations are being investigated by the university, citing privacy requirements.

She said, however, that the university is continuing to look into the former student's complaint.